Holland Suzanne Defiglio of Castleton, a 2005 graduate of the Hudson Valley Community College Individual Studies program, was recently honored by the college.

Defiglio was given the Phi Theta Kappa Award to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A president's list student, she plans to transfer to Rensselaer to study biology. Defiglio was one of the first Presidential Scholars at Hudson Valley Community College - high-achieving high school students who are awarded full or partial tuition at the college.

A member of Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society for students at two-year colleges, Defiglio worked as a peer tutor at the college's Learning Assistance Center. She also is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 60 degree and certificate programs in four academic divisions: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has nearly 60,000 alumni.